Starting a business in trades - what to look out for!

Benefits of starting a new company

Starting your own craft business offers many opportunities.

Due to the excess demand on the market for qualified craftspeople who sell services and products, it can currently make a lot of sense to set up a craft business now. Especially with unique services, you can stand out from the crowd and create a loyal customer base. As a new founder, you are not only your own boss, but can also earn a considerable salary with the right management and perfect your own craft. You can finally manage your own hours, choose your own tools and accept the jobs that suit you best.

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Alongside the opportunities, there are also challenges when starting a craft business. It often requires a lot of hard work to be successful. It is also important to become familiar with the legal and tax aspects of starting a business in the skilled trades sector.

To do this, you should first analyze the regional market, determine your target group - i.e. private customers or rather company-to-company - and take a good look at the competition.

The right legal form: What you should consider

Once you have done this, you should think about the right legal form. This is because you will have to deal with things such as liability, profit and loss distribution, equity/debt financing, costs, tax aspects and technical requirements. As a sole trader, for example, you have comparatively little work involved in setting up your business and do not need any start-up capital like a GmbH, for example. However, you are fully liable with your private assets, which is limited with a GmbH. You should also consider the number of founders, as a GbR, for example, can only be founded with two people and a one-person company can only be founded alone.

Financing - tips and tricks for a successful start

Do you already know what legal form you want, but you simply don't have the money to do it all? Then you should have a look around for funding programs for craftsmen. For example, there are financial grants from the government and other subsidies that you might be entitled to.

Of course, you can also finance your project with the help of your bank. There are a few things you should keep in mind here. Your discussions with the bank should always be carefully thought out and prepared. It is best to draw up a coherent business plan that will convince the bank of the future viability of your project. You should have a unique selling point and/or clarify the relevance of your idea, demonstrate your commercial and entrepreneurial skills and also prove your personal competence.

Software: Make your life easier!

Be careful when choosing your software, because you can create a lot of work for yourself here. You should make sure that the software is in the cloud so that you can work from anywhere. It is also important that your software is as automated as possible, for example through automatic number ranges or storable master data. You should also avoid high investment costs, as you can simply save yourself this cost factor.

If you start directly with the right software, you can avoid unnecessary extra work and make your life easier.

With plancraft, you'll have simple, quick-to-implement software that covers everything and you won't have to worry about paperwork. As a new founder, we offer you the first 3 months of Plancraft free of charge so that you can concentrate fully on your start-up.

Opportunities when starting a business in the craft sector: Why working in this sector is worthwhile.

If you have finally decided to start a business as a craftsman, then the future looks really bright, because with new technologies and an increasing need for craftsmen, there is still great growth ahead for the trades. At the same time, as a founder you will probably receive a lot of gratitude and appreciation, as craftsmen are extremely needed in every trade and can therefore make an important contribution to society with your job. No matter what, the skilled trades offer many opportunities and niches in which you can do exactly your thing.

Most important:

• Craftsmen are in demand and can stand out primarily through unique services.
• You can estimate any risks beforehand by making a good calculation of your costs and sales.
• Our start-up program could help you.
• The future looks really good for you and the options are endless.

Your checklist

• Analyze opportunities on the market
• Define and analyze your target group
• Define unique selling points
• Choose an appropriate legal form
• Think through financing, write a business plan and secure funding
• Choose the right software

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